Absolute Classic - 97%

"Conspiracy" by King Diamond is the follow to "Them" which was much weaker than "Abigail." This album though is an absolute gem that is a fantastic combination of King's high-pitched vocals, Andy La Rocque and Pete Blakk's shred fest, and the amount of rhythm and tempo changes in the songs.

The opener is possibly the best King Diamond song ever and that would be "At the Graves." The creepy opener with the keyboard erupts into a speed riff with King screaming his lungs out. The tempo changes on this song are amazing and is a headbanger throughout as the solos extend in theis number. Near the end of the song the riff goes slowly and chugs along progressively getting faster and was a sweet way to end the song. Another top notch song is "Sleepless Nights" which has a nice speed metal riff to it and kind of a chorous that makes me wanna scream "sleepless nights" right along with him. The vocals are amazing on this album with the amount of differnt voices and tones King uses on these songs.

A couple things I noticed about this album is the increased use of the keyboards and how King's vocals follow more closely to the guitar riff. When the notes go higher or lower, King's voice follows the riff and it sounds easy on the ears considering how he screams so much. This is evident in "The Wedding Dream" and "Victimized." The keyboards add more of an effect to the atmosphere and mood of the album.

Now, Andy La Rocque and Pete Blakk are one hell of a guitar combo. The solos on this album range from straight out fast and thrasy to melodic and smoothe. The solos just extend like is said about "At the Graves" and also in "Victimized" which has a catchy riff and solo at the end. It just blows my mind how great this is. The shredding is magnificent from the beautiful acoustic intro to "A Visit From the Dead" to the mid-paced rocker "Amon belongs to Them" there is a bunch of variety with the riffing and guitars on this shred fest. It makes my neck hurt with all the headbanging this album delivers.

I must say, there is one track that scares me and creeps me out. I have listened to this album a number of times, but I never can get used to "Let it Be Done." It just starts with quick bashing of violins and gives me goosebumps and then follows with sort of a cradle lullaby thing. Kind of like a deadly lullaby. This is what happens with experimentation as this is one the more abstract numbers and really different from other things he has wrote and if this was meant to scare people then it worked because it scares the crap out of me. Defitnitly a neat interlude though.

Overall, this album will rock the hell out of you. So much headbanging along with the scream alongs with King Diamond makes for a fantastic album and a great way to end the decade of the 80's. Get it. Buy it. Like it. Love it.